DOES MAJOR MATTER? AN EXAMINATION OF UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR AND MEDICAL SCHOOL ADMISSION

Abstract

The official stance of the Association America of Medical Colleges (AAMC) regarding the undergraduate major of applicants for admission to medical school is that there are no required or preferred majors. While the AAMC is the body that governs admission to allopathic medical schools in the United States, this statement does not provide clarity to prospective medical school applicants as to what undergraduate major to select; it only encourages students from a variety of educational backgrounds to apply. Furthermore, a broad statement about undergraduate major flexibility does not indicate how choice of major will eventually impact admission to medical school. While the AAMC encourages applicants to choose any undergraduate major they wish, there is minimal peer-reviewed research or empirical evidence of the relationship between applicants' undergraduate major and their likelihood of admission to medical school. Through the lens of the student-choice construct, this dissertation sought to determine if applicants' undergraduate major is a statistically significant predictor of successful admission to medical school. This model accommodates decisions such as the intent to pursue post-secondary education, which institution to attend, what major to choose, and whether to persist to degree completion. The student-choice construct also contends that these decisions are influenced by the amount of human, financial, social, and cultural capital available to the student throughout the decision-making process. To study how choice of major impacts admission to medical school, I conducted a quantitative study using a hierarchical binary logistic regression. Secondary data were collected using the formal data request procedure outlined by the AAMC. Application-level data were received from the AAMC, and personally identifiable information including applicants’ names, identification numbers, and addresses were removed by the AAMC before the data were delivered. Additionally, given that the study involves the analysis of de-identified extant data, this study received exemption from the Institutional Review Board at Temple University. The dataset included 53,371 applicants to allopathic medical school for the 2019 application cycle. These applicants attended undergraduate institutions primarily located in the United States and Canada. The study revealed that undergraduate major does not serve as a statistically significant predictor of admission to medical school over and above applicants' demographic characteristics, MCAT scores, and undergraduate grade point average. Applicants who chose a Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Mathematics (BCPM) major did not have a greater chance of being admitted to medical school than an applicant who chose a non-BCPM major. These findings are consistent with previous studies that sought to predict variables that contribute to medical school admission. Future research should investigate the predictive ability of admissions variables such as applicant characteristics captured from medical school interviews; letters of recommendation; personal statements and community service, leadership, and healthcare experiences. A combined or comparative study similarly analyzing applicants to different health profession programs might also be useful. In addition, a non-binary categorization of specific undergraduate majors would provide an even more nuanced analysis of how different majors predict admission to medical school.